Three in four car thefts went unsolved last year as Lib Dems call for vehicle crime crackdown

EMBARGO: 2230 Thursday 25th December 2025

The Liberal Democrats are calling for a car theft crackdown, with a dedicated unit in each police force to tackle the unsolved crime epidemic. It comes as House of Commons library data reveals that a shocking 76% of all car thefts went unsolved last year.

The worst performing force area was the Metropolitan police, where a total of 88% of all incidents were left unsolved. The British Transport Police, South Yorkshire, City of London, Sussex and Warwickshire police forces have all reported over 80% of car thefts were unsolved.

Out of the 44 police forces in England and Wales, a massive 35 forces had a total rate of 60% of all cases going unsolved.

The Liberal Democrats are calling for a “car theft crackdown.” A specialist team, based at the National Crime Agency, would pool ANPR camera data, insurance records, and intelligence from all police forces and border control to target organised car crime networks.

Commenting, Liberal Democrats Home Affairs Spokesperson Max Wilkinson MP said:

“Time and time again victims of crime are left without the support they need, it’s a disgrace and communities deserve so much better.

“The previous Conservative government betrayed our communities with years of self-defeating cuts to our police forces - and now the current Labour government must not turn a blind-eye to this epidemic.

“Enough is enough. That is why the Liberal Democrats are calling for a car theft crackdown, to finally catch the organised gangs and criminals who for far too long have been getting away with it.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

The data from the House of Commons Library on car theft can be found here.